It is very desirable for portable electronic devices such as cell phones and the like to provide battery protection circuits for the device batteries. These circuits include power MOSFETs, IC gate drivers, battery gas gauge chips, and the like, along with a number of passive components, e.g. resistors, capacitors, diodes, and inductors.
The assembly of these parts on a conventional printed circuit board consumes considerable “real estate” and volume in that typically only one surface of the circuit board can be used for the assembly of the components. Thus, space within the housing of a device (e.g. a cell phone) becomes limited. Limited space also restricts the use of certain desirable components, for example, a larger battery to prolong the use of the device, a highly desirable commercial characteristic. In addition, as functionality increases, the number of components increases. As a result, the efficient use of space within the housing of the device becomes ever more important.